Arizona Prisons Face Growing Number of Health Care Complaints as Inmate Lawsuits Reach 250 Cases

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, and its rotating vendors have been tied up in a class action lawsuit over inadequate health care since 2012 in the case now dubbed Jensen v Thornell. But as the court record grows, the number of individual inmates pursuing their own relief and damages expands, too.

As of April 9, more than 250 cases in Arizona District Court named the departments current health care vendor, NaphCare, as a defendant. Some complaints date back to prior vendors, but the throughline comes via a long list of claims related to untreated or inadequately addressed ailments including cancer, hepatitis C, hernia, lost vision, brain bleeds, waning mental health, infected surgical wounds, seizures, chronic pain, denied or discontinued medication.

Slanted cursive or a stilted print fills the pages scrawled in pen or pencil, scribbled on lined paper, boxes checked and lines traced. Lawsuits filed over the past 14 years, most handwritten, continue to flag failures in the state prison health care system.

A Class Action Foundation

The American Civil Liberties Union, the Prison Law Office and Disability Rights Arizona first filed the complaint against the Arizona Department of Corrections on behalf of all people incarcerated in the state prison system in 2012, claiming systemic failures had led to suffering and death.

Federal judges have issued three orders now finding unconstitutional care and levied three contempt sanctions against the department, totaling $2.5 million.

Over the past 14 years, the class action has sought changes to the policies and practices of the Department of Corrections. But attorneys for the plaintiffs do not seek any monetary damages on behalf of its class, leaving inmates to pursue it for themselves.

Donna Hamm, executive director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, assists and advocates for inmates health care needs. And though she works to refer cases to pro bono attorneys, she acknowledged many inmates go to court on their own behalf.

The Litigation Challenge

Its difficult to get depositions, to get evidence, Hamm said. Sometimes the evidence miraculously disappears, or its never produced, she said. The department is very, very skilled at making life difficult for a civil litigant.

Some complaints date back to prior vendors, but the throughline comes via a long list of claims related to untreated or inadequately addressed ailments. Many are dismissed early on for technical failures in filing or for falling short in arguments and evidence, especially as those incarcerated represent themselves. Some end in sealed settlements.

But in lawsuits new and old, inmates lean on findings from the class action to support their cases. Each claim illustrates the minutiae of how the health care system continues to fail inside Arizonas prisons.

The Deliberate Indifference Defense

Coreene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU National Prison Project and an attorney for the plaintiffs in Jensen v Thornell, said the interplay between the class action and individual cases typically occurs when judges weigh deliberate indifference or whether prison staff knowingly disregarded the risk of harm.

One of the big defenses that the department can make in these individual cases is, we were not aware of the problems, Kendrick said.

Kendrick noted cases are often brought to the departments attention either through plaintiffs counsel or through court monitors in the class action. Its hard for them to say in an individual case later on, we did not realize that this person had a problem, because there is evidence of it, she said.

Case Examples

Gary Jerome Harper sued the department in 2018 claiming treatment or lack thereof, for his bladder dysfunction, thyroid disorder and history of Hodgkins lymphoma. In 2020, a federal judge rejected an attempt to dismiss the case by the Arizona Department of Corrections and Coriden, the health care vendor at the time.

Judge David Campbell found deliberate indifference by the department and its health care provider. He cited Harpers own requests for help, unfulfilled follow ups and referrals from medical staff and letters from Rita Lomio, an attorney on the health care class action, who raised the issue of Harpers continued inadequate treatment in multiple letters to then ADCRR Director Charles Ryans counsel.

A similar sequence played out in a later case filed by David Shores, an inmate, who claimed inadequate treatment by the department and its new vendor, Centurion, for excessive prostate pain. As in Harpers case, an attorney for the Prison Law Office Thomas Nosewicz wrote multiple letters to the departments counsel flagging the need for medical care. Campbell denied the departments motion for summary judgment.

One Inmates Story

Tyson Anderson started his lawsuit alone, but the court has since appointed pro bono counsel to represent him. Anderson was first incarcerated in 2018. He was designated as seriously mentally ill given a schizoaffective disorder diagnosis and a history of self harm and suicide risk. He also has a seizure disorder.

Over the course of his incarceration, Anderson was primarily housed in a unit where he was required to use the stairs to get to his cell. He requested a transfer, claiming a threat to his physical safety a threat that actualized when Anderson had a seizure and fell down the stairs. Anderson lost his job due to lack of disability accommodations and spent more and more time in isolation. Then, a nurse discontinued his seizure medication after claiming he was faking. He had two more seizures. In one instance he woke up face down in a pool of blood from a head injury. His mental state continued to worsen, he was still in solitary confinement when he raised concerns with court monitors in Jensen v Thornell.

In July 2021, Anderson attempted suicide by cutting his arm and ingesting sharp objects. He was transferred to a mental health facility, but was returned to his original housing shortly after.

The success of these complaints is mixed. Many are dismissed early on for technical failures in filing or for falling short in arguments and evidence, especially as those incarcerated represent themselves. Some end in sealed settlements.

But in lawsuits new and old, inmates lean on findings from the class action to support their cases. Each claim illustrates the minutiae of how the health care system continues to fail inside Arizonas prisons.